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Original file28.Mehitotsubou
The image features a large, bald figure with a single, prominent eye centered on its forehead. The figure possesses deep-set facial wrinkles, a wide nose, and a thin, downturned mouth with light stubble. It is dressed in dark, loose-fitting monk's robes with wide sleeves that obscure its arms. The figure's lower body is partially visible beneath the robes, revealing claw-like feet, and it appears to be crouching or seated on the ground. The style is that of a traditional Japanese scroll or print, using subtle ink washes and muted tones on a textured, aged paper background.
This figure belongs to the yōkai tradition of Japanese folklore, specifically representing the Hitotsume-kozō, a mischievous one-eyed entity often depicted in the guise of a novice Buddhist monk. Such depictions proliferated during the Edo period as folklore became a staple of visual art, literature, and print culture.
めひとつぼう
Translation
Mehitotsubō (A variant name for Hitotsume-kozō)
Toriyama Sekien
Sekien's 'Gazu Hyakki Yagyō' popularized the taxonomy and visual representation of yōkai like the Hitotsume-kozō.
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 21, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.